Friday, August 29, 2014

Yikes! It's time again for Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent." In keeping with my doll theme I'm reaching into my archives to find a picture. I've been kind of busy this week and didn't have time to come up with something original so I'm going with "O" as in OH DEAR!

Some years back an online doll group did a thing called "Ginny as me." We would find an old photograph of ourselves and then recreate the photo with our Vogue Ginny dolls.

OH DEAR...what was I thinking when this photo was taken?

This is actually from an old slide and I was rejecting Skippy Olsen's advances. This was taken sometime in the early 1950's.

Here's Ginny as me!

The boy doll is a Madame Alexander doll. The Ginny representing me is what collectors call a Skinny Ginny. This type of Ginny was manufactured during the late 70's and early 80's. This was a period of time when the Vogue Doll Company was undergoing changes and was owned by a couple of different companies. Eventually, the company was purchased by the Smith family in 1995 and today we have very good reproduction Ginnys that are very similar to the ones produced in the 1950's. (I was always a skinny child so I decided to use a Skinny Ginny for this picture.)

Actually, my real kids have always enjoyed Italian Spaghetti and Meatballs. It's a family favorite. Normally, we have it for Christmas dinner. This year we also had it a few weeks ago due to a special request.

I thought I'd share that recipe with you. We've been using this recipe for at least 45 years. The original recipe came from the cookbook "Recipes on Parade - Meats" and includes 2000 world wide favorites of Military Officers' Wives. (I took that right off the cover.) The book was published in 1964 and I purchased my first copy while my husband was in the Navy. That one fell apart and a few years ago I replaced it with a copy I found on Ebay.

My kids love Italian sausage, so we throw some in the pot with the meatballs. We also use Italian sausage in the meatballs and I brown them on a cookie sheet in the oven. I double the meatball portion of the recipe so we have lots of meatballs in the sauce. These are just a few of the changes we've made. Enjoy!

Famous Italian Spaghetti

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 c. onion, chopped

3 T. olive oil

1 1/2 pounds of ground
beef (I usually just use 1 pound)

1 6 oz. can tomato paste
(I always use Hunts)

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
(I always use Hunts)

1 1 lb. can tomato puree
(I always use Hunts and this size can is no longer available.It now comes in a smaller size can so I buy
enough to have at least one pound.It
ends up being a little over one pound and I use it all.)

2 t. sugar

2 c. water

1/4 c. parsley, chopped

1 small bay leaf

1/4 t. rosemary

1/4 t. basil

1/4 t. thyme (I leave out)

1/4 t. allspice

1/4 t. oregano

1/4 t. pepper

1 t. salt (I omit)

1 4 oz. can undrained
mushrooms

In large sauce pan cook
garlic and onion in oil until golden brown with 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef,
add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer gently for two hours or longer.

Meatballs

(I double the below recipe so we have lots of
meatballs in the sauce.)

Combine all ingredients;
shape into 1 inch balls (mine are larger).Brown, drain fat. (I cook them in the oven on a cookie sheet sprayed
with Pam.)Add to sauce and simmer 30 minutes.(I simmer a bit longer.)Serve over spaghetti.

Italian Sausage

I cook sausage links in
oven.Usually a 1/2 pound of sweet and a
1/2 pound of hot.Prick them all over
with a fork.Place in one inch of water
in pan and cook 20-30 minutes on each side in 350 degree oven.Watch and adjust time.Slice at an angle and add to sauce when you
put in the meatballs.

PHOTOBUCKET

I do not have a Photobucket account. The blog background that I previously had came from a source that used Photobucket. I am no longer able to contact that source. If anyone knows how I can remove the annoying Photobucket boxes please let me know.

BACK TO SCHOOL

WARM HEART WEDNESDAY SPONSORED BY JENNY MATLOCK

Jenny is on medical leave. My hope and prayer is that she'll be back with us soon.

"Once you choose hope, anything is possible."--Christopher Reeve

MY PINTEREST GINNY DOLL WORLD

MY VOGUE GINNY DOLL COLLECTION

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YES, BORN AND RAISED IN JERSEY!

MY TRIP BACK IN TIME: My Family History Blog

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1945-2012

OUR SON, REID WAS DIAGNOSED WITH HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA - OCTOBER 2009

I'll be posting regular updates on his progress. We are very hopeful and thank you for your warm thoughts and prayers.

REID BEGAN TREATMENT WITH ADCETRIS - MAY 22, 2012

Reid relapsed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma after a autonomous stem cell transplant. He had participated in a clinical trial for Adcetris, but it was determined that he had received the placebo in the trial, so he began treatment with the actual drug on May 22, 2012.

ALLOGENIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT - DECEMBER 21, 2012

Reid received his brother Keith's stem cells in an allogenic stem cell transplant on December 21, 2012.

DECEMBER 2012

CANCER FREE

December 19, 2014Reid is now cancer free for two years!

October 2015After a summer scare Reid is declared cancer free once again. On December 19, 2015 it will be three years cancer free!

July 2017Other than chronic graft vs host disease Reid is doing well.

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